← Leviticus | ← Ch 12 | Ch 14 →
Introduction
Overview
Leviticus 13 . 1 , The laws and tokens whereby the priest is to be guided in discerning the leprosy.
Reciprocal . Leviticus 15 . 1 . Aaron Deuteronomy 24 . 8 . General Mark 1 . 40 . a leper Luke 5 . 12 . full Luke 17 . 14 . Go
rising . or , swelling
a scab . Leviticus 14 . 56 , Deuteronomy 28 . 27 , Isaiah 3 . 17
the plague of leprosy . Tzaraâth , the Leprosy , from the Greek כונסב , from כוניע , a scale; so called , because in this disease the body is covered with thin white scales , so as to give it the appearance of snow. The leprosy is a dreadful , contagious disorder , common in Egypt and Syria , and generally manifests itself at first in the manner described in the text. Its commencement is imperceptible; there appearing only a few reddish spots on the skin , which are not attended with pain or any other symptom , but cannot be removed. It increases imperceptibly , and continues for some years to be more and more manifest. The spots become larger , spread over the whole skin , and are sometimes rather raised , though generally flat. When it increases the upper part of the nose swells , the nostrils distend , the nose becomes soft , swellings appear on the under jaws , the eyebrows are elevated , the ears grow thick , the ends of the fingers , feet , and toes , swell , the nails grow scaly , the joints of the hands and feet separate , the palms of hands and soles of the feet are ulcerated , and in its last stage the patient becomes horrible , and falls to pieces. Leviticus 14 . 3 , Leviticus 14 . 35 , Exodus 4 . 6 , Exodus 4 . 7 , Numbers 12 . 10 , Numbers 12 . 12 , 2 Samuel 3 . 29 , 2 Kings 5 . 1 , 2 Kings 5 . 27 , 2 Chronicles 26 . 19-21 , Isaiah 1 . 6
he shall . Deuteronomy 17 . 8 , Deuteronomy 17 . 9 , Deuteronomy 24 . 8 , Malachi 2 . 7 , Matthew 8 . 4 , Mark 1 . 44 , Luke 5 . 14 , Luke 17 . 14
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 3 . shall look Leviticus 13 . 6 . a scab Leviticus 13 . 27 . it is the plague of leprosy Leviticus 13 . 49 . it is Leviticus 22 . 4 . a leper
shall look . Leviticus 13 . 2 , Leviticus 10 . 10 , Ezekiel 44 . 23 , Haggai 2 . 11 , Malachi 2 . 7 , Acts 20 . 28 , Romans 3 . 19 , Romans 3 . 20 , Romans 7 . 7 , Hebrews 13 . 7 , Revelation 2 . 23
turned . Ezekiel 16 . 30 , Hosea 7 . 9
deeper . Genesis 13 . 3 , 2 Timothy 2 . 16 , 2 Timothy 2 . 17 , 2 Timothy 3 . 13
pronounce . Matthew 16 . 19 , Matthew 18 . 17 , Matthew 18 . 18 , John 20 . 23 , Romans 3 . 19 , Romans 3 . 20 , 1 Corinthians 5 . 4-6 , 2 Thessalonians 3 . 14 , 2 Thessalonians 3 . 15 , 1 Timothy 1 . 20
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 8 . General Leviticus 13 . 10 . shall see him Leviticus 13 . 20 . in sight Leviticus 14 . 37 . General Leviticus 22 . 4 . a leper Numbers 12 . 10 . leprous 2 Kings 5 . 1 . a leper
shut up . Numbers 12 . 15 , Deuteronomy 13 . 14 , Ezekiel 44 . 10 , 1 Corinthians 4 . 5 , 1 Timothy 5 . 24
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 10 . shall see him Leviticus 13 . 25 . turned white Leviticus 13 . 26 . then the priest Leviticus 13 . 31 . seven days
Reciprocal . Exodus 29 . 30 . seven days Leviticus 13 . 26 . then the priest Leviticus 14 . 8 . seven days
pronounce . Isaiah 11 . 3 , Isaiah 11 . 4 , Isaiah 42 . 3 , Romans 14 . 1 , Jude 1 . 22 , Jude 1 . 23
a scab . Leviticus 13 . 2 , Deuteronomy 32 . 5 , James 3 . 2
wash . Leviticus 11 . 25 , Leviticus 11 . 28 , Leviticus 11 . 40 , Leviticus 14 . 8 , 1 Kings 8 . 38 , 1 Kings 8 . 45 , Psalm 19 . 12 , Proverbs 20 . 9 , Ecclesiastes 7 . 20 ,John 13 . 8-10 , 2 Corinthians 7 . 1 , Hebrews 9 . 10 , Hebrews 10 . 22 , 1 John 1 . 7-9
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 34 . and he shall Leviticus 15 . 5 . General
Leviticus 13 . 27 , Leviticus 13 . 35 , Leviticus 13 . 36 , Psalm 38 . 3 , Isaiah 1 . 5 , Isaiah 1 . 6 , Romans 6 . 12-14 , 2 Timothy 2 . 16 , 2 Timothy 2 . 17
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
Leviticus 13 . 3 , Matthew 15 . 7 , Matthew 15 . 8 , Acts 8 . 21 , Philippians 3 . 18 , Philippians 3 . 19 , 2 Peter 2 . 19
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
shall see him . Leviticus 13 . 3 , Leviticus 13 . 4 , Numbers 12 . 10-12 , 2 Kings 5 . 27 , 2 Chronicles 26 . 19 , 2 Chronicles 26 . 20
quick raw flesh . Heb. the quickening of living flesh , Leviticus 13 . 14 , Leviticus 13 . 15 , Leviticus 13 . 24 , Proverbs 12 . 1 , Amos 5 . 10 , John 3 . 19 , John 3 . 20 , John 7 . 7
cover all . 1 Kings 8 . 38 , Job 40 . 4 , Job 42 . 6 , Isaiah 64 . 6 , John 16 . 8 , John 16 . 9 , Romans 7 . 14 , 1 John 1 . 8-10
if the leprosy . It may seem strange that the partial leper should be pronounced unclean , and the person totally covered with the disease clean. This was probably owing to a different species or stage of the disease; the partial being contagious , the total not. That there are two different species , or degrees , of the disease described here , is sufficiently evident . in one , the person was all covered with a white enamelled scurf; in the other , there was a quick raw flesh in the risings. On this account , the one was deemed unclean , or contagious , the other not; for contact with the quick raw flesh would be more likely to communicate the disease , than the touch of the hard dry scurf. The ichor proceeding from the former , when brought into contact with the flesh of another , would soon be taken into constitution by means of the absorbent vessels; but where the surface was perfectly dry; the absorbent vessels of another , coming in contact with the diseased man , could imbibe nothing , and there was consequently but little or no danger of infection. This is the learned Dr. Mead's view of the subject; who thus accounts for the circumstances mentioned in the text.
he is clean . Isaiah 64 . 6 , John 9 . 41
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 7 . pronounce
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 10 . quick raw flesh
Romans 7 . 14-24 , Galatians 1 . 14-16 , Philippians 3 . 6-8 , 1 Timothy 1 . 13-15
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 7 . pronounce
a boil . Exodus 9 . 9 , Exodus 15 . 26 , 2 Kings 20 . 7 , Job 2 . 7 , Psalm 38 . 3-7 , Isaiah 38 . 21
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 25 . turned white
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 37 . General
in sight . Leviticus 13 . 3 , Matthew 12 . 45 , John 5 . 14 , 2 Peter 2 . 20
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 37 . General
shut him . 1 Corinthians 5 . 5
a plague . i.e. "The plague of leprosy" , Leviticus 13 . 22
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
Genesis 38 . 26 , 2 Samuel 12 . 13 , 2 Chronicles 19 . 2 , 2 Chronicles 19 . 3 , Job 34 . 31 , Job 34 . 32 , Job 40 . 4 , Job 40 . 5 , Proverbs 28 . 13 , Matthew 26 . 75 , 2 Corinthians 2 . 7 , Galatians 6 . 1 , 1 Peter 4 . 2 , 1 Peter 4 . 3
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 26 . then the priest Leviticus 13 . 34 . be not
a hot burning . Heb. a burning of fire , Isaiah 3 . 24 , This is supposed to state the case of such as had been hurt by fire; which would leave a scar , in which the leprosy might appear , and which was to be distinguished by the rules here given.
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 10 . quick raw flesh
turned white . Leviticus 13 . 4 , Leviticus 13 . 18-20
then the priest . Leviticus 13 . 4 , Leviticus 13 . 5 , Leviticus 13 . 23
it is the plague of leprosy . Leviticus 13 . 2
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 7 . General Leviticus 13 . 35 . General Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
1 Kings 8 . 38 , 1 Kings 12 . 28 , 2 Chronicles 6 . 29 , Psalm 53 . 4 , Isaiah 1 . 5 , Isaiah 5 . 20 , Isaiah 9 . 15 , Micah 3 . 11 , Matthew 6 . 23 , Matthew 13 . 14 , Matthew 13 . 15 , John 16 . 2 , John 16 . 3 , Acts 22 . 3 , Acts 22 . 4 , Acts 26 . 9 , Acts 26 . 10 , 2 Corinthians 4 . 3 , 2 Corinthians 4 . 4 , 2 Thessalonians 2 . 11 , 2 Thessalonians 2 . 12
Reciprocal . Isaiah 3 . 17 . smite
scall . Leviticus 13 . 34-37 , Leviticus 14 . 54
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 32 . yellow hair Isaiah 3 . 17 . smite John 20 . 4 . outrun
seven days . Leviticus 13 . 4-6
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 54 . scall
yellow hair . Leviticus 13 . 30 , Matthew 23 . 5 , Luke 18 . 9-12 , Romans 2 . 23
the seventh . 1 John 4 . 1 , Jude 1 . 22 , Revelation 2 . 2
be not . Leviticus 13 . 23
and he shall . Leviticus 13 . 6
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 30 . scall Leviticus 15 . 5 . General
Leviticus 13 . 7 , Leviticus 13 . 27 , 2 Timothy 2 . 16 , 2 Timothy 2 . 17 , 2 Timothy 3 . 13
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 7 . General Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
if the bright . Ecclesiastes 7 . 20 , Romans 7 . 22-25 , James 3 . 2
a freckled spot . The word bohak , from the Syriac behak , to be white , or shining , here rendered "a freckled spot ," is used by the Arabs to denote a kind of leprosy , of which Niebuhr says , "Bohak is neither contagious nor dangerous. A black boy at Mocha , who was affected with this eruption , had here and there upon his body white spots. We were told that the use of sulphur had relieved this boy for a time , but had not entirely removed the disease." He adds subsequently from Forskal's papers , "The Arabs call a sort of leprosy , in which some little spots shew themselves here and there on the body , behaq; and it is without doubt the same as is named bohak , (Leviticus 13 . 1-59). They believe it to be so far from contagious , that one may sleep with a person affected without danger.
On the 15th day of May , 1765 , I myself first saw the Bohak leprosy in a Jew at Mocha. The spots in this disease are of an unequal size. They do not shine; are not perceptibly higher than the skin; and do not change the colour of the hair. Their colour is an obscure white , inclining to red. The rest of the skin of the patient was darker than that of the people of the country in general; but the spots were not so white as the skin of an European , when not sun-burnt. The spots in this leprosy do not appear on the hands , or near the navel , but on the neck and face , yet not on that part where the hair grows thick. They gradually spread , and continue sometimes only about two months , but in some cases one or two years , and then disappear by degrees , of themselves. This disorder is neither contagious nor hereditary , nor does it occasion any inconvenience. Hence a person infected with the bohak is declared clean."
hair is fallen off his head . Heb. head is pilled , Leviticus 13 . 41 , Song of Solomon 5 . 11 , Romans 6 . 12 , Romans 6 . 19 , Romans 8 . 10 , Galatians 4 . 13
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 40 . hair is fallen off his head
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 37 . General
Reciprocal . Isaiah 3 . 17 . smite
utterly unclean . Job 36 . 14 , Matthew 6 . 23 , 2 Peter 2 . 1 , 2 Peter 2 . 2 , 2 John 1 . 8-10
his plague . Isaiah 1 . 5
Reciprocal . Leviticus 22 . 4 . a leper 2 Samuel 3 . 29 . an issue 2 Kings 5 . 1 . a leper Isaiah 3 . 17 . smite Matthew 8 . 2 . a leper
his clothes . Genesis 37 . 29 , 2 Samuel 13 . 19 , Job 1 . 20 , Jeremiah 3 . 25 , Jeremiah 36 . 24 , Joel 2 . 13
and his head . Leviticus 10 . 6 , Leviticus 21 . 10
put . Ezekiel 24 . 17 , Ezekiel 24 . 22 , Micah 3 . 7
Unclean . Job 42 . 6 , Psalm 51 . 3 , Psalm 51 . 5 , Isaiah 6 . 5 , Isaiah 52 . 11 , Isaiah 64 . 6 , Lamentations 4 . 15 , Luke 5 . 8 , Luke 7 . 6 , Luke 7 . 7 , Luke 17 . 12
Reciprocal . Numbers 5 . 18 . uncover Numbers 12 . 14 . let her be Numbers 19 . 3 . without the camp
the days . Proverbs 30 . 12
without . Numbers 5 . 2 , Numbers 12 . 14 , Numbers 12 . 15 , 2 Kings 7 . 3 , 2 Kings 15 . 5 , 2 Chronicles 26 . 21 , Lamentations 1 . 1 , Lamentations 1 . 8 , 1 Corinthians 5 . 5 , 1 Corinthians 5 . 9-13 , 2 Thessalonians 3 . 6 , 2 Thessalonians 3 . 14 , 1 Timothy 6 . 5 , Hebrews 12 . 15 , Hebrews 12 . 16 , Revelation 21 . 27 , Revelation 22 . 15
Reciprocal . Leviticus 4 . 12 . without the camp Leviticus 14 . 3 . out of Leviticus 24 . 14 . without Numbers 19 . 3 . without the camp Luke 17 . 12 . which
The garment . This leprosy in garments appears so strange to us , that it has induced some , with Bp. Patrick , to consider it as an extraordinary punishment inflicted by God upon the Israelites , as a sign of his high displeasure; while others consider the leprosy in clothes . and also houses as having no relation to the leprosy in man. When Michaelis was considering the subject , he was told by a dealer in wool , that the wool of sheep which die of a disease , if it has not been shorn from the animal while living , is unfit to manufacture cloth , and liable to something like what Moses here describes , and which he imagines to be the plague of leprosy in garments. The whole account , however , as Dr. A. Clarke observes , seems to intimate that the garment was fretted by the contagion of the real leprosy; which it is probable was occasioned by a species of animacula , or vermin , burrowing in the skin , which we know to be the cause of the itch; these , by breeding in the garments , must necessarily multiply their kind , and fret the garments , i.e. , corrode a portion of the finer parts , after the manner of moths , for their nourishment. The infection of garments has frequently been known to cause the worst species of scarlet fever , and even the plague; and those infected with psora , or itch animal , have communicated the disease even in six or seven years after the infection. Isaiah 3 . 16-24 , Isaiah 59 . 6 , Isaiah 64 . 6 , Ezekiel 16 . 16 , Romans 13 . 12 , Ephesians 4 . 22 , Colossians 3 . 3 , Jude 1 . 23
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 55 . the leprosy
thing made of . Heb. work of , Leviticus 13 . 51 , Deuteronomy 8 . 11 , Jude 1 . 23 , Revelation 3 . 4
thing of skin . Heb. vessel , or instrument
it is . Leviticus 13 . 2
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 37 . General
Reciprocal . Leviticus 14 . 38 . General
fretting leprosy . Leviticus 14 . 44
Reciprocal . Leviticus 13 . 48 . thing made of Leviticus 14 . 39 . General
burn . Leviticus 11 . 33 , Leviticus 11 . 35 , Deuteronomy 7 . 25 , Deuteronomy 7 . 26 , Isaiah 30 . 22 , Acts 19 . 19 , Acts 19 . 20
fretting leprosy . Leviticus 14 . 44 , Leviticus 14 . 45
after . Ezekiel 24 . 13 , Hebrews 6 . 4-8 , 2 Peter 1 . 9 , 2 Peter 2 . 20-22
it be bare within or without . Heb. it be bald in the head thereof , or in the forehead thereof
shalt burn . Isaiah 33 . 14 , Matthew 3 . 12 , Matthew 22 . 7 , Matthew 25 . 41 , Revelation 21 . 8 , Revelation 21 . 27
be washed . 2 Kings 5 . 10 , 2 Kings 5 . 14 , Psalm 51 . 2 , 2 Corinthians 7 . 1 , 2 Corinthians 12 . 8 , Hebrews 9 . 10 , Revelation 1 . 5 , The plague of leprosy was inflicted immediately from the hand of God , and came not from natural causes , as other diseases; and therefore must be managed according to a divine law. Miriam's leprosy , and Gehazi's and King Uzziah's were all the punishments of particular sins; and if generally it was so , no marvel there was so much care taken to distinguish it from a common distemper , that none might be looked upon as lying under this extraordinary token of Divine displeasure , but those that really were so.
Reciprocal . Leviticus 5 . 3 . the uncleanness Leviticus 7 . 21 . the uncleanness Leviticus 14 . 2 . the law Leviticus 14 . 32 . General Leviticus 15 . 31 . Thus shall Leviticus 15 . 32 . General Numbers 5 . 29 . the law Numbers 30 . 16 . General Numbers 36 . 13 . the commandments